TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

We had a great time at the Westin Reserva Conchal In Guanacaste Costa Rica! The hotel was awesome and the staff was amazing! They have wonderful pools and many things to do! The beach there is also nice. M...any food options and we cannot say enough about how wonderful and accomodating the Westin staff is. We had such a nice time and would go back again! We also went to the beach and found Erik G in a blue google shirt. He was great to work with and so knowledgeable about the area and what to do. We had a blast ziplining and the transportation to and from the hotel and the tour was great! The drivers were kind, professional and always on time. We would recommend him as well! Overall we really enloyed Costa Rica and hope to go back! Beautiful place, amazing people and so much to do! Thank you Westin for a great visit! Thank you Erik for helping us have a wonderful time too! Hope to visit Costa Rica again!

Service was wonderful. Very accommodating. Beautiful grounds and the most comfortable beds! The food was outstanding. The beach and sunsets are beautiful. Erik Google guy on beach set us up on our excur...sion to hike and waterfall! Everything was just awesome!!! Costco travel is the way to go!

This is our second time here and it’s just as wonderful as last year. If you come in May it’s very serene and full of natural beauty and lots of wildlife. Don’t worry about weather because apps are often ...wrong for this microclimate. Weather has been great all week despite a rain forecast for every day. We’ve had a little drizzle here and there but nothing that affects our day. The food is good and water is drinkable. Our whole family has never had any issues either last year or this year. If you’re worried about the language, everyone here knows English. You can bring US dollars because everything is priced in dollars at the resort and many other places. If you go to a grocery store your credit card will work just fine. For excursions you can use the tour desks at the hotel or find an independent broker easily. We’ve used Erik G. in the blue Google shirt on the beach for two years now and he’s great to work with. He has reputable and safe drivers and tour operators in his network and we always have a great time and feel safe on the tours he arranges. We also used him for airport transfers. We love this hotel and can’t wait to return again. It’s really that kind of place.

We stayed the week of May 12, three couples. FLIGHTS Luckily no issues at Newark Airport given the current issues. Flights both ways on time! TRANSFERS Amstar provided excellent service! To resort took a...lmost 1.5 hours due to traffic. Returning to airport took under one hour. No issues, but construction on a bridge caused delays for some. Not for us. CHECK-IN Very easy. Nice open air lobby. It's hot, but that's Costa Rica. Lobby bartender made very good margaritas and chocolate martini's. ROOMS We stayed in a "bungalow" (bldg 23) which is closer to lobby but still walkable everywhere once we got the lay of the land. It's a sprawling resort, which we like, and golf cart service is free and they run everywhere. So if you're not a walker, no worries. Room was spacious. Much better than an ordinary hotel room. Bedding awesome. Westin's trademark Heavenly bedding gets an A+ Room service was friendly, on time, and just right. Private balcony faced the trees. You can hear the birds and howler monkeys during the day and night. Very cool. NOTE: Higher number buildings, like 33+ are closer to the pool, beach, and restaurants, but are not as quiet. RESTAURANTS Food was above average for an all-inclusive resort. It wasn't crowded so no reservations required. Longest waits were for Manglar (seafood) and Bamboo (Asian) restaurants. Cocktail menus at each venue, all different. Very nice. Also Italian and Mitra Market (buffet for all meals if you choose). Poolside grill with tacos, burgers, etc. Near Westin towers (closer to lobby) is a Mediterranean restaurant. Best kept secret is the Cauri (tapas) in the lobby. We had a sax player while we dined. Very very enjoyable. BEACH On Brasalito bay, beautiful cove, very tropical. Sand is nothing special but some beautiful shells on the beach. Beach loungers and umbrellas are carried out to beach for you in the morning. In the afternoon, loungers are vacated and you can just use them. When tide comes in, beach is quite shallow. Water is perfect, warm, colorful. There is a drop off, which is unfortunate for kids, so watch that. Snorkeling from beach was not great. We heard catamaran excursion also had poor snorkeling. You do not need water shoes. No rocks, just shells. Sunsets are amazing! Sun rises and sets at same time every day in Costa Rica. If you like jet skiing, there are plenty of them. We found them annoying. Vendors are respectful if you say no. We had massages on beach. Massage ladies are the most aggressive, but in a nice way. $40 USD for an hour massage. Well worth it. STAFF Probably the friendliest staff we've encountered. They cannot do enough for you. Tipping is optional but certainly appreciated. WOULD WE GO BACK Yes! The only negative is that excursions are at least 1.5 hours away. The rain forest and volcano are 3-4 hours away. Some folks do a split vacation and spend time near rain forest (where it will rain believe it or not) and then to the resort.

We had an overall nice time at The Westin. Here are a few highlights: Our room location was an upgrade if you want to be closer to all the action. Our building was as close as you could get to the pool.... Room 388 If you don't pay for the upgrade, I think you will be in the buildings further away and I heard lots of people complaining about the walk even though they have carts transferring people all the time. The workers were all very kind and most speak very good English. So don't fear coming down here thinking you won't be understood. My husband liked the more down-to-Earth feeling that The Westin, and in general, Costa Rica has about it. Being in a more rural area of Costa Rica, you aren't going to encounter any big cities which was a nice change from Cancun. PURA VIDA! While the room wasn't huge, it was comfortable for the 4 of us (ages 16,18,45,45). At first I was disappointed about our room because I wanted an open balcony area where I could sit outside and read and watch people. But we had an enclosed sitting area with big glass windows instead. I was really bummed about it. But after a day of 95 degree weather, the enclosed sitting room turned out to be a blessing especially because we could use the extra room for the 4 of us. Not many rooms have this and I'm glad we had it. A few low lights I feel like I should mention. I'm not complaining about these little things but I find TripAdvisor to be a really helpful place to get a clear idea of what to expect so I want to be fair: We've been to many all-inclusives so I feel like it's a bit unfair to compare between them all. Some hotels are better at things than others. When you read from others that there are vendors on the beach, that doesn't really give you an accurate picture. I KNOW these people live on our money spent. I feel for them. However, I am paying a pretty penny to get away for one week for relaxation and peace. Right when you step off of the property (and sometimes even before you do) and onto the beach area, 8-10 women start shouting at you, asking if you want a massage. If you dare to make a nice response like, "Maybe later", they've baited the fish on the hook! There are about 4-8 tarps strapped in the trees covering each color coded massage table area for each vendor. And these girls work! Again, I won't begrudge them for trying to earn a dollar. Just let me come to you, please don't hound me on the beach and shout at me as I enter and exit the beach area. Not only do you have Massage Central set up, you also have to walk through, what I called all week, THE GAUNTLET, an area where vendors are selling the same stuff that the little shop near the pool is selling but a half the cost. These people were a little more subdued and at lease didn't yell at you while you walked past them. We did buy a bracelet for my daughter. There are no servers on the beach to bring you drinks. They will set up a lounge chair and umbrella for you. We spend most of our time at the beach because it was so dang hot and the ocean water was refreshing. The pool water is about 90 degrees. There is only ONE towel station and they are always willing to give you a fresh one when you need it. Sometimes they asked for our room number, like they were tracking how many we took, and others times they didn't. If I could make a suggestion that would make The Westin on-par with other all-inclusives we've been to, I would say you need a little coffee/ice cream shop that is open from 7am to 10pm. I couldn't believe the lack of coffee options. They have a store that you can PURCHASE coffee beverages, but I paid A LOT for an all-inclusive resort...COFFEE??????????? I found two gas-station style coffee machines, one at the pool bar and the other at the buffet. However, one morning, there were no cups, and another morning it was broken. I just need COFFEE! And the kids just want ice cream!!! Just set up a coffee/ice cream shop and you will have happy families! The food was okay but that's usually the case for all-inclusives, I've found. The drinks were good. We're not big drinkers and the kids loved their VPC every day. There's a lot more I could say. Shout out to Eric in the blue GOOGLE shirt near THE GAUNTLET, who set us up with a day excursion to La Leona (the lion) waterfall. It was a wonderful hike through the jungle and literally through the river. We saw white-faced monkeys, bats in the caves, a toucan and one human hand-sized spider (a water spider???). Our personal tour guide was Joshua and he was wonderful and made us feel like we were getting a secret tour of some things others weren't (I'm sure everyone sees everything, he just made us feel really special). And shout out to our sweet driver to the waterfall, Cristian, who ended up eating lunch with us afterwards. This excursion definitely made the trip to Costa Rica. Would we come back to Costa Rica? PURA VIDA! YES!!! Would we come back to The Westin Reserva? Probably not. But thanks for the good time!